Everyone Thought The Fake Heiress Had Her Reasons Ch. 5
Ming Jiao pulled up a chair and sat opposite Tang Xiaoyu. “I overslept. Auntie must have come by already.”
She casually surveyed the cleaner, brighter hall. “I forgot to ask last night—won’t staying here to protect me interfere with your other affairs?”
Faced with her casual demeanor and current thoughtfulness, Tang Xiaoyu often felt an absurd sense of dreaming and a disconnect from the past. “What do you mean?”
“Like your public life.” Ming Jiao leaned back in her chair, slender arms dangling loosely. “I imagine those with extraordinary powers must lead mysterious lives with separate identities. If your parents and friends don’t know about your abilities, they’d surely wonder about occasional nights away from home.”
“No need to worry about that.” Tang Xiaoyu’s dark eyes remained steady. She had made arrangements—whether people knew her identity or not, no one would question her temporary absence.
Ming Jiao sifted through the original host’s memories but found no clues. Though the original host had constantly watched Tang Xiaoyu, she never truly understood her.
The focus had always been on whether the family had given Tang Xiaoyu new cars, jewelry, or designer bags. If Tang Xiaoyu received something she didn’t, the original host would accuse the family of favoritism and make a scene or resort to passive-aggressive remarks.
It was exhausting and irritating.
As for Tang Xiaoyu spending nights away from home—that was perfectly normal. Her profession as a moderately famous painter provided ample excuse. Wasn’t it typical for artists to travel for inspiration and be away for extended periods?
Moreover, the original host was happier when Tang Xiaoyu wasn’t around—fewer people to annoy her, and more opportunities to manipulate the family’s affections.
Thus, Ming Jiao couldn’t determine whether the Ming family knew about Tang Xiaoyu’s identity.
Lost in thought, she heard Tang Xiaoyu speak, “Ask whatever you want now.”
Ming Jiao immediately brightened, knowing that given Tang Xiaoyu’s likely negative opinion of her, this might be her only chance—a fleeting opportunity not to be missed.
The silent System immediately perked up its ears.
“I want to learn about abilities and the other side of this world,” Ming Jiao said.
Tang Xiaoyu pondered for a moment. “You should know our world was rebuilt after the apocalypse ended.”
Ming Jiao concealed her surprise, thinking, I actually didn’t know that.
Still, she nodded slightly.
Tang Xiaoyu continued, “It’s been over two hundred years since that catastrophe. Many records are sealed away. Modern people view it merely as a natural disaster—a meteorite-borne virus mutation that altered humans, animals, and plants.”
“But it wasn’t actually a virus, and the catastrophe never truly ended.”
Ming Jiao’s heart tightened. “It never ended? Then what really happened?”
Tang Xiaoyu interlaced her fingers on the table. “It was an invasion by extradimensional demons. All mutated lifeforms were contaminated by energy pollution.”
“Both the extradimensional demons and polluted creatures possess strength beyond ordinary humans. Conventional physical attacks have limited effect on them.”
“Yet calamity often brings opportunity. Alongside the invaders and energy pollution, many awakened with the power to resist them—that’s the origin of ability users. The energy awakened in such individuals is called ability.”
Ming Jiao ventured, “Then now…”
Tang Xiaoyu said, “As the mutated creatures were eliminated and the invading demons were either slain or expelled, the overt battles came to an end. Our ancestors established new order and rules, restoring the peace and tranquility of the past.”
“But over the years, the demons have never given up. They frequently come to harass us. This harassment is endlessly irritating, yet it never escalates into a world war like before. So, ability users shifted to working behind the scenes. Much of the information about abilities was sealed away, and ability users gradually faded into legend.”
For the sake of overall peace and stability, this arrangement was inevitable, and Ming Jiao could understand it.
“Then, are all ability users naturally awakened? Are there level and category distinctions?”
Tang Xiaoyu said, “Some ability users inherit it through bloodlines. If parents or elders have awakened abilities, the descendants have a higher chance of awakening them too. There are also cases where no one in the family has abilities, but a member of the current generation awakens naturally.”
Ming Jiao felt a stir in her heart, silently speculating about which type she might be.
Tang Xiaoyu continued, “There are level distinctions, from low to high: D, C, B, A, S, S+. As for categories, low or mid-level ability users generally possess only pure energy. Only mid-to-high or high-level ability users may gain special abilities in addition to their energy, such as control over one of the elements like wind, fire, or lightning.”
Ming Jiao couldn’t help but start guessing what level Tang Xiaoyu and that man in black might be, and who was stronger.
“Under normal circumstances, ability users register their identities and have their records filed with the Ability User Association established by the state. Some of these ability users work directly for the state, while others are part of private teams,” Tang Xiaoyu added. “The state permits the existence of legitimate private ability user teams, and sometimes the two sides collaborate.”
Ming Jiao rested her chin on her hand. “So, which type do you belong to?”
Tang Xiaoyu glanced at her. “The latter.”
Ming Jiao nodded. “So, that man in black belongs to the abnormal category of ability users, right?”
Tang Xiaoyu agreed. “Exactly. Many unregistered ability users and fugitives cannot register formally. They often take advantage of their superhuman powers to commit illegal acts. Such people are usually on official wanted lists and public bounty boards.”
As they chatted, Tang Xiaoyu finished the lunch on her plate and walked directly to the floor-to-ceiling window nearby. “He is a fugitive, codenamed Wild Ghost. We also call him a hunter—a hunter of heroes.”
Ming Jiao raised an eyebrow, guessing, “Has he killed many good people?”
“He enjoys hunting ordinary people who act heroically and heroes who have received awards.” The warmth in Tang Xiaoyu’s voice had vanished at some point. “My mission is to capture him.”
“You’ll catch him. I believe in you,” Ming Jiao said. “Besides, you still have me as bait, don’t you?”
For a twisted killer like him, his distorted pride would never allow him to accept failure against an ordinary person. As long as he knew she was still alive, he would surely return, regardless of any traps waiting for him.
Tang Xiaoyu turned her face to look at Ming Jiao. Under the dazzling sunlight, the chain on her silver glasses remained coldly gleaming, but her expression was indistinct.
“It’s just that if he kills with specific targets,” Ming Jiao smiled, her peach-blossom eyes flickering with nonchalance and a hint of mystery, “then suddenly coming to kill me seems very unreasonable.”
Tang Xiaoyu felt she maintained a clarity of perception in this matter, her deep eyes fixed on her for several moments before she slowly spoke, “It’s more likely someone hired him to kill you than it being mere coincidence.”
Criminals are human too—they need to eat. Even ability users who turn to crime are no exception. Taking commissions and engaging in shady dealings for bounties isn’t unusual.
“Great minds think alike.” Ming Jiao blinked, “It’s just that there are too many suspects.” Her tone was utterly candid, “The number of people I’ve offended is beyond counting.”
Tang Xiaoyu fell silent. Why had she never noticed before that Ming Jiao actually possessed the virtue of self-awareness?
She asked, “Are there any with particularly deep grudges?”
“That would still be a considerable range.” Ming Jiao smoothed the hair cascading over her shoulders, “It’s probably like going from fishing for a needle in the ocean to fishing for one in a small river.”
Her attitude was as natural as drinking water or eating rice. Tang Xiaoyu was again rendered speechless, though…
A flicker of contemplation crossed her expression. Anyone capable of hiring an ability user assassin would need both substantial financial resources and some understanding of the ability user world—these two conditions were indispensable. She could use this as a starting point for her investigation.
Of course, it would be even better if the assassin came to them soon. Once captured, all the fog would clear.
Probably.
Thinking this, Tang Xiaoyu glanced back at Ming Jiao.
She remained calm, a faint, elusive smile gracing her lips. She showed neither fear about nearly being assassinated nor anger toward the employer.
She herself was more enigmatic than this incident.
Tang Xiaoyu averted her gaze, pondering.
Ming Jiao had similar speculations about the assassin’s employer as Tang Xiaoyu, but her thoughts ran deeper.
When Tang Xiaoyu mentioned hunters earlier, her attitude was especially icy. Beyond justice and duty, was there also personal grudges between them?
After musing for a while, she couldn’t help but sigh to the System, 【Tang Xiaoyu is clearly the protagonist of this book, yet her hidden identity isn’t mentioned at all in the story. The waters of this world truly run deep.】
The System deeply agreed, 【Indeed.】
So deep it felt it couldn’t grasp them.
·
For two consecutive days, Tang Xiaoyu stayed at the Rose Garden (the name of the residential complex) to protect Ming Jiao, though she usually remained in the living room, handling work on her laptop or making calls to someone.
Recalling Tang Xiaoyu’s mention of being part of a private team organization, Ming Jiao guessed she might be communicating with teammates about work.
【This can’t go on like this.】 Ming Jiao said to the System.
Although Tang Xiaoyu’s profession offered relative freedom, she couldn’t stay with her indefinitely. Even if she could, Ming Jiao would feel too embarrassed.
But speaking of professions, she remembered she wasn’t exactly unemployed either—her work was similarly flexible, or rather, she was a hands-off manager.
The original host had studied fashion design. After graduation, the Ming family funded a studio for her, staffed with several excellent designers, along with a full complement of financial, client liaison, administrative personnel, and an all-around assistant.
The original host hardly needed to lift a finger. She could visit the studio when happy to dabble in designs, or leave it to the studio manager when not.
Regardless of the original host’s casual attitude, she possessed genuine talent in this field. But for Ming Jiao, it was a headache. She was confident in her painting skills and sewing techniques, but design inspiration and talent were things she couldn’t inherit even if she wanted to.
The System was also aware of her troubles and advised, “Host, you shouldn’t worry too much. I can provide you with materials on fashion design and help you study on your own. You also have the foundation left by the original owner, so there’s definitely no problem.”
“In short, don’t engage in your old profession for the time being. Although the original owner also learned self-defense, suddenly becoming a martial arts instructor would be too out of character.”
The System’s advice was quite reasonable, and Ming Jiao wasn’t one to ignore it. After pondering for a moment, she said with a carefree tone, “You’re right, and it’s too early for us to think about these things now. Let’s focus on finding a way to solve the trouble first and see how things go. Maybe in the future, I’ll move to another city to live. By then, no one will know me, no one will pay attention to me, and the issue of breaking character won’t exist anymore.”
The System was surprised. “Host, you want to leave?”
Translator: Glariosa
Editor: Ruu
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